Because of its unusual stems, this species is normally easy to recognise.
It occurs in the Little Karoo and the southwestern Great Karoo on lower stony slopes and hilltops, usually inside or next to other bushes.
The flowers appear normally in March-May, in small clusters near the top of the purplish to greyish green stems. They emit a strong smell of buck or sheep urine.
It seemed appropriate to devote this first post from my new home to a plant that was first discovered near Montagu. Nowadays it is known to be widely distributed from just south of Ceres to the area north of Port Elizabeth. In a genus where most plants look rather dull when not in flower, this is probably the most handsome. It is a robust species, forming shrubs of almost half a meter tall and even more in diameter. (The only Quaqua that is occasionally bigger is Q. mammillaris). In spite of their size, the plants are not always very easy to find. The shape and mottling of the stems provide a nice camouflage.
The two plants in habitat were photographed in early November at the northern foot of the Rooiberg pass near Calitzdorp. The flowering plant is a cultivated one.
